Nov 28, 2014

From
time to time, people ask me why we should go to church. I would like to cite a
specific example of how ritual functions—and worship is part of the Christian
ritual.

A
timely example of ritual is our secular celebration of Thanksgiving, which by
the way, we model on the Hebrew notion of giving thanks to God. I suggest
secular simply because Thanksgiving Day has been set aside for national
thanksgiving to God by our presidents from at least as far back as Abraham
Lincoln. In point of fact, for Christians every Sabbath Day is a day of
thanksgiving. Thus, in a way, Christians should be experts at giving thanks to
God.

Many
families have their own thanksgiving rituals. I still remember the
thanksgivings we spent at my grandmother’s house when growing up. We would all
gather at the farm, eat a wonderful meal; dismiss the children to play outside.
After the children left, the adults would push their plates back and listen to
my grandfather spin tall tales about his life. Yet, his stories so entertained,
that we youngsters would sneak back in and listen to his fantastic “whoppers!”
Each Thanksgiving Day was exactly the same. Thanksgiving Days, as I remember
them, are imprinted deeply on my soul. They were among my best childhood
memories.

This
is how ritual served us and my guess is that it functions this way for many
families. We attend worship as either a nuclear family or part of the family of
God because the ritual of worship gives our lives meaning and joy. Our worship
ritual also gives us a formal opportunity to thank God for the gift we call
life!

Nov 21, 2014

Scores of
people lost their lives. The world’s mightiest army was forced to abandon a
strategic base. Property damage approached a billion dollars. All because the
sleeping giant, Mount Pinatube in the Philippines, roared back to life after
600 years of quiet slumber.

When asked to
account for the incredible destruction caused by this volcano, a research
scientist from the Philippine department of volcanology observed, “When a
volcano is silent for many years, our people forget that it’s a volcano and
begin to treat it like a mountain.”

Like Mount
Pinatube, our sinful nature always has the potential to erupt, bringing great
harm both to ourselves and to others. As Paul wrote: “all have sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The biggest mistake we can make is to ignore the
volcano and move back onto what seems like a dormant “mountain.”

Nov 14, 2014

Too often in
life an emergency arises and those caught in it are unprepared. The Boy Scout
motto of “be prepared” is not a bad motto for most of us.

The mighty
Niagara River plummets some 180 feet at the American and Horseshoe Falls.
Before the falls, there are violent, turbulent rapids. Farther upstream,
however, where the river’s current flows more gently, boats are able to
navigate. Just before the Welland River empties into the Niagara, a pedestrian
walkway spans the river. Posted on this bridge’s pylons is a warning sign for
all boaters: DO YOU HAVE AN ANCHOR?

Followed by, DO YOU KNOW HOW TO USE IT?

Faith, like
the capacity to anchor a boat, is something we need to develop and use before
we face a cataclysm.

Nov 7, 2014

In September
2007 my friend Tom Butts who is the pastor emeritus
at FUMC, Monroeville AL wrote an article that answers the question “why are
some people generous?” Our Stewardship Education Series this year is titled “Rethink: Generosity.” Tom Butts offers
us some good things to ponder.

This is the
time of year when churches are in the process of planning their projected
budget for the coming year. This essential procedure lacks exactitude, but when
done correctly and published to the membership everyone gets a birds-eye view
of the scope of the mission of the church.

The next step
taken by most churches is to conduct a campaign for pledges to that budget.
Many ministers and church leaders do not look forward to this annual task. We
are reluctant to ask people to give, even to so worthy a project as the church.
For the most part I have always found this exercise to be potentially
spiritually enriching. I believe most people want to give to causes which represent
the betterment of society in general and individuals in particular.

There are at
least 3 essential ingredients to a stewardship campaign with integrity. The
first is a clear understanding of the sacred nature of the cause for which
money is being raised. This is God’s money. It is to be used only for promoting
the Gospel and helping people. These are two things to which Jesus called his
followers when he was here in the flesh. “Go ye unto all the world and preach
the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). After a laundry list of ways we are
called to minister to the poor and oppressed, Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you,
as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren (and sisters) you did it
unto me” (Matthew 25:40).
Having established the holy nature of the effort we go to step two.

People tend to
give generously when they know their leaders are giving generously. I recall a
phrase from a stewardship campaign many years ago which I find to be true: “Financial
influence runs downhill.” No minister or church leader should ask others to do
something they are not doing. One of my friends was asked by a local church to
direct the annual stewardship campaign. Early on he was told that the pastor of
the church had never pledged, and had no record of giving. He went to the
pastor and asked if this was true. After some stuttering and fancy footwork the
pastor admitted this to be true, but said he gave to other undocumented causes.
My friend said to him: “You will either make a pledge worthy of your means
right now or I will pack my bags and go home. I will not ask people to do something
their pastor is not doing.” [As an
aside if you want to know what my family gives to the church, please ask and I
will be happy to visit with you about it].

The third
important element: “Do not be afraid to ask people to give.” When the cause is
beyond our own interest—when it is for the highest purpose, be bold.

Robert
Macauley, founder of AmeriCares Foundation, a humanitarian group that provides
relief efforts at home and around the world, recalled an experience he and
Mother Teresa had on an airplane flying to Mexico. As box dinners were being
passed out, Mother Teresa asked how much the airline would donate to her
charity if she returned her dinner. When she found out, she soon had everyone,
including the crew, returning their dinners.

But it didn’t
stop there. When the plane arrived at its destination, Mother Teresa asked the
crew if she could have the dinners to donate to the poor. And, when the airline
provided the dinners, she asked to borrow one of their maintenance trucks to
deliver them.

These are reasons people give:

1. People realize that everything
belongs to God.

2. The people who are our leaders are
generous—and we follow their good example.

3. We ask people to give because it is
part of our faith and we do good work!